Yahoo Studies Alternatives to Microsoft — Yahoo is holding out hope it can avoid Microsoft's bid by way of a possible rival suitor or a tie-up with Google that might allow it to stay independent. Video

Decision Time For Yahoo — The dust is settling on Microsoft's $31 per share offer to acquire Yahoo, and the options left open to the company are fairly well understood at this point. There will almost certainly be no White Knight or other buyout offer coming to the table - the sorry state of the debt markets is assuring that.

Could Anyone Buy Google? — If you believe the adage that anything is for sale at the right price, does that apply to Google? — This scenario - however seemingly implausible - struck me after Microsoft unveiled plans to spend $44.5-billion to acquire Yahoo.

Google Likely Out, And Happy — After dominating the U.S. wireless spectrum auction for months, from influencing the terms of the auction to bidding, it looks like Google is off the hook. — Nine days into the closely watched Federal Communications Commission auction …

Google Aims to Crack Chinese Market — Two years after Google Inc. began a big push in China, Baidu.com Inc. continues to dominate the country's Internet search market, thanks in significant part to a controversial and legally risky offering: searches for free, unlicensed music downloads.

Helio launches location-based entertainment with Buzzd — Helio, the U.S. arm of SK Telecom, is offering location-based entertainment on its cell phones in a partnership with Buzzd. The Buzzd service delivers editorially-driven reviews of nearby locations. Here's a link to video and the release is below:

Pirated by iTunes, Artist Turns to BitTorrent — The Flashbulb, aka Benn Jordan, became so outraged when he discovered that iTunes was effectively pirating his music, that he uploaded copies of his latest album to BitTorrent. TorrentFreak caught up with Benn to learn more about the decision …

The Latest From Jerry: Stay Focused, Yahoos! — Yet another employee letter to Yahoos from CEO Jerry Yang has now become public, thanks to Yahoo being required to file these things with the US Security & Exchange Commission. It makes you wonder why Yahoo (and Microsoft) …

Pictures: The Black Nokia N82 is official, finally! — Available only in the USA, $630. You can order it online here. — The 5 megapixel, xenon flash equipped, GPS, WiFi, HSDPA monster is finally looking a bit more respectable. — Update: After adding one into my shopping cart for purchase I was presented with this message:

Facebook featured on new iPhone ad — Tonight, Apple released two new iPhone commercials in the standard iPhone-esqe style — Facebook and Cars. In these two commercials, Apple expounds on features that have already been introduced in older commercials. This is the first time that Apple …

How a BitTorrent Tracker Owner Hides from the MPAA/RIAA — Apart from The Pirate Bay guys, most tracker administrators are acutely aware of the risks they expose themselves to, and do everything they can to hide in the shadows. We speak to a tracker owner to find out the kind of measures …

Facebook Begins Suggesting Friends? — One of my readers just sent me an email about a new feature that he hadn't seen previously. I haven't seen this feature either. Apparently there is now a feature that “Suggests a friend to me.” I'm assuming that if there is a contact …

Video site Revver shopping itself for a song — Revver, a YouTube competitor that made a name for itself by paying video producers, has fallen on hard times. — The company's staff has dwindled to less than half the size it was 18 months ago, according to former employees.

Why Social Applications Will Thrive In A Recession — Is a recession coming? Don't ask me — I'm not an economist, and even the economists don't really know. But if it's anything like the last recession, advertising will plummet and experimental media will crater.

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